Art Exhibitions

Sutherland | Caithness by Alastair Cook

Photographer | Architect | Artist

Alastair's photographic and artistic work is guided by his knowledge, skill and experience as a conservation architect. His work is rooted in place and the intrinsic connections between people, land and heritage.

Born in Dumfries in 1971, Alastair grew up in the south west of Scotland, trained as an architect at the Glasgow School of Art then fled the country. He returned after a dutiful spell in London and a more relaxed time in Amsterdam. After exhibiting in Amsterdam. Alastair settled in Edinburgh and, with his wife Emma Franks, opened Friction, a gallery providing artists with their first solo show on a not for profit basis.

Sutherland | Caithness

Sutherland | Caithness is an exhibition documenting Alastair's photographic and artistic response to the people, heritage and lands of Sutherland and neighbouring Caithness. The photographs and film were all taken during a stay with Timespan in December 2009, during which the artist spent time with the community, developing an understanding of the place, its past and its future.

Sutherland | Caithness is an exhibition principally of black and white 35mm film photographs, set alongside new filmwork. The themes of dereliction and abandonment, common threads that weave through Alastair's work, are visible in his response to Sutherland and Caithness, set alongside his strong response to the sea.